Pasteurizer with conveyor belt

ABSTRACT

A pasteurizer with a conveyor belt for transporting the goods to be pasteurized, the conveyor belt having an endless structure  39  comprising several metal bodies  13, 22 , and several plastic pieces  30  forming the conveyor surface  38  being coupled to the structure  39 . Also, a conveyor belt, in particular for a pasteurizer, comprising an endless structure having several metal bodies, with several plastic pieces  30  forming the conveyor surface  38  being coupled to the structure  39 . Also, a conveyor belt, in particular for a pasteurizer, the conveyor belt  3  comprising several identical modules  29  in the longitudinal as well as in the transverse direction, each module  29  having several identical bodies in the longitudinal as well as in the transverse direction.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This is the U.S. national stage under 35 U.S.C. §371, of internationalapplication no. PCT/EP2005/001634, having an international filing dateof Feb. 17, 2005, and claims priority to German application no. 10 2004021 262.7 filed on Apr. 30, 2004.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The disclosure relates to a pasteurizer with a conveyor belt as well asto a conveyor belt for a pasteurizer.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

A pasteurizer with a conveyor belt is known from EP 1 348 345.

A transport conveyor for transporting the products to be pasteurizedthrough the pasteurizer is provided. Such transport conveyors have awidth of up to several meters, such as 5 or 6 m. On this conveyor, tins,beverage cans, glass bottles or the like are slowly transported throughthe different zones of the pasteurizer, so that the products arepasteurized in the process.

From practice, conveyor belts of plastic elements or steel elements areknown for this purpose. The elements are joined such that they form aconveyor belt with a conveyor surface.

The conveyor belts of steel have the disadvantage that they are veryheavy and relatively expensive to manufacture.

The conveyor belts of plastic elements have the disadvantage of a highwear and that the plastic elements extremely age due to the frequentheating and cooling down as well as due to the contact with the waterand the substances solved therein, which shortens service life comparedto steel conveyors.

From EP 0 953 522, for example, a conveyor mat and a conveyor device areknown. In this conveyor, individual plastic elements are joined to forma conveyor mat.

The disadvantages of this plastic conveyor are the same as with theconveyor belts of plastic elements known from practice.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

It is the object of the present disclosure to improve a pasteurizer witha conveyor belt as well as a conveyor belt.

The conveyor belt has an endless structure composed of several metalbodies. This structure of metal bodies is appropriate for absorbing thetensile forces occurring during transport, is dimensionally stable,non-ageing and shows little wear.

Furthermore, the structure is insensitive with respect to thermalfluctuations compared to plastics.

Plastic pieces forming the conveyor surface are coupled to thisstructure.

The plastic pieces are relatively cheap to manufacture and can also becheaply manufactured in complex shapes, for example by injectionmoulding methods.

Relatively large surfaces which then compose the conveyor surface can beformed with the plastic pieces. Such a conveyor is thus non-ageing,shows little wear and is at the same time inexpensive.

In a preferred embodiment, several bodies are provided transversely tothe conveying direction as well as in the conveying direction. Due toseveral bodies in the conveying direction, the movability of theconveyor belt is ensured, whereas due to several members transverse tothe conveying direction, manufacture and repair are facilitated.

Advantageously, the plastic pieces are fixed to the structureindividually or only in a low number (for example, 5 to 15) of plasticpieces. This has the advantage that for exchanging a plastic piece, onlythis one itself or only a few of them have to be uncoupled from thestructure.

Advantageously, one plastic piece is provided per metal body. This isadvantageous as each body per se is rigid and thus appropriate forreceiving a plastic piece that is also rigid.

However, per body several plastic pieces or per plastic piece severalbodies can also be provided.

The plastic pieces preferably have ribs extending into the conveyingdirection at the conveyor surface. Such ribs facilitate the delivery ofgoods to be pasteurized from the conveyor belt to a removing conveyor asthe ribs can engage with a rack arranged at the end of the conveyorpath.

The structure advantageously comprises identical modules, each modulecomprising several identical bodies. The bodies of one module are fixedto one another so as to form a unit.

The combination of bodies in pre-assembled units in the form of moduleson the one hand permits easier exchange of, for example, only one modulein case of a repair and furthermore permits the pre-assembly of unitsthat are easy to handle and to transport.

At their respective sides, the modules preferably have plug-inconnections by which they can be connected to other modules.

A preferred embodiment of the metal bodies is a U-shaped one, as this onthe one hand offers the possibility of performing the connection withthe plastic piece at several points, and furthermore quasi a rectangulargrid can be composed of these U-shaped parts.

The bodies of a module are connected with connector rods extendingtransversely to the conveying direction. With these connector rods, theindividual bodies can be easily connected and disconnected again.Furthermore, the connector rods offer the simple possibility of alsoarranging rollers by which the conveyor belt can roll on a supportstructure.

The plastic pieces are advantageously connected to the metal bodies onthe one hand by projections that can engage with openings of the metalbody and/or by fixing rods.

The fixing rods and/or the connector rods are advantageously as long asone module is wide, seen in the conveying direction. This has theadvantage that, for exchanging the rods or the pieces connected thereby,not all the rods across the whole width of the conveyor belt have to beremoved, but only those of the corresponding module.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

Advantageous embodiments of the disclosure are represented in thedrawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a three-dimensional, schematic representation of the entryarea of a pasteurizer,

FIG. 2 shows a schematic sectional drawing of a pasteurizer,

FIG. 3 shows a three-dimensional, schematic representation of a metalbody,

FIG. 4 shows a three-dimensional, schematic representation of a metalend body,

FIG. 5 shows a three-dimensional, schematic representation of severalcomposed metal bodies,

FIG. 6 shows a three-dimensional, schematic representation of a module,

FIG. 7 shows a three-dimensional, schematic representation of a conveyorbelt,

FIG. 8 shows a three-dimensional, schematic representation of a plasticpiece,

FIG. 9 shows a three-dimensional, schematic representation of a plasticpiece in connection with a metal body,

FIG. 10 shows a schematic sectional drawing of the conveyor belt and asupport,

FIG. 11 shows a schematic representation of supports and track rollers.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

FIG. 1 shows the entry area of a pasteurizer 1. The pasteurizercomprises a tunnel 2 that can be several 10 meters long. The products tobe pasteurized, such as bottles, tins, beverage cans or the like, arepassed through this tunnel 2.

In the Figures, by way of example bottles 7 are depicted. The bottles 7are transported through the tunnel 2 on a conveyor belt 3.

A feeder belt 5 leads to the entry area of the pasteurizer 1. By meansof a railing 6, the bottles 7 are distributed across the entry area ofthe pasteurizer 1.

The conveyor speed of the feeder belt 5 is normally clearly higher thanthat of the conveyor belt 3 of the main conveyor. The main conveyoroperates comparably slowly in order to ensure sufficient pasteurizationtime in the pasteurizer 1.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic section through a pasteurizer 1. In the left,the entry area with the feeder belt 5 is depicted, while in the rightthe output area with a removing belt 11 is depicted. The pasteurizer 1comprises the conveyor belt 3 that is guided over rolls 9, 10. With theconveyor belt 3, the bottles 7 are transported from the entry to theexit in direction of arrow 8 (conveying direction). Between the feederbelt 5 and the conveyor belt 3, a push-over surface 4 is provided inorder to facilitate or permit the delivery of the bottles 7. Thepush-over surface 4 can be inclined towards the conveyor belt 3.Likewise, a push-over surface 12 is arranged between the conveyor belt 3and the removing belt 11. The conveyor belt 3 can be provided with ribsthat are passed through corresponding slots (not shown) of the push-oversurfaces 4 and/or 12 in order to facilitate the pushing over. Thepush-over surfaces 4, 12 are then designed as a kind of rack.

FIG. 3 shows a metal body 13 by which the endless structure of theconveyor belt 3 is formed.

The body 13 has a U-shape with lateral legs 15, 16 and a connector piece14.

In the lateral legs 15 and 16, holes (e. g. borings) 18, 19 are providedwhich serve for connecting several successive bodies 13 by means ofrods.

Furthermore, holes 20 (e.g. borings) are provided which serve for fixingthe plastic piece to the body 13. The recesses 17 arranged in theconnector piece 14 also serve this purpose.

In one area 21, the lateral legs 15, 16 are bent. This makes it possibleto place another metal body with its connector piece between the ends ofthe lateral legs 15, 16, so that the borings 18 of such a piece arealigned with the borings 19 of the piece shown in FIG. 3 in order tothus pass a rod through the borings and thus connect the pieces.

In FIG. 4, a second metal body is shown which will be designated as endbody below. The end body 22 additionally has a pin 23 with a groove atone lateral leg as well as a keyhole-shaped opening 24 at the oppositelateral leg. The pin 23 can be inserted through the large openingportion of the keyhole opening 24 and then be shifted through a groovein the pin 23 into the narrow portion of the keyhole opening 24. Insteadof the boring 18 (see FIG. 3), here, too, keyhole-shaped openings 25 areprovided the function of which will be illustrated below.

FIG. 5 shows how a two-dimensional structure 39 can be formed from theU-shaped bodies 13.

Connector rods 26 pass through the openings 19 at the ends of thelateral legs 15, 16 of a body 13, between the ends of the legs 15, 16, afurther body 13 being inserted, so that the connector rod 26 passesthrough the front borings 18 of the body 13 arranged behind.

In the direction along the connector rods 26, several rows ofinterconnected bodies 13 are arranged.

A roller 28 is put on the lower connector rod 26 in FIG. 5 in the left.The roller 28 is dimensioned such that it projects over the lower edgeof the metal body 13 (non-depicted).

A connector rod 27 is passed through the openings 20 arranged one nextto the other, the function of which will be illustrated below.

In FIG. 5, only the connection of normal metal bodies 13 is shown, not,however, that of end bodies 22.

In order to fix end bodies 22 (see FIG. 4), the connector rod 26 has twogrooves. The connector rod 26 can be passed through the large openingsof the keyhole openings 25 and be connected to the end body 22 byshifting the end body 22 such that the grooves of the connector rod 26engage with the narrow portions of the keyhole openings 25 or are lockedtherein. This excludes a shifting of the end body 22 along the connectorrod 26.

If an end body 22 is arranged at each of the ends of the connector rods26 in this manner, these end bodies 22 hold the normal bodies 13arranged in-between, such that these cannot slip from the rods 26.

In this manner, it is possible to assemble modules 29, as they are shownin FIG. 6. The module 29 in FIG. 6 consists of six rows and eleven linesof metal bodies. Some of them are end bodies 22, and some are normalbodies 13.

The end bodies 22 are arranged at the sides and represented by ashading. For a better overview, the connector rods 26 are not shown inFIG. 6.

The end bodies 22, which face outwards with a keyhole opening 24, haveno pin 23 as this would collide with the adjacent body 13.Alternatively, if there does exist a pin, this body 13 can also comprisean appropriate opening for loosely or firmly receiving the pin 23 inorder to avoid the collision. These openings can be, for example, theopenings 18 (s. FIG. 3).

In the rearmost row in FIG. 6, no end bodies 22 but normal bodies 13 areprovided at the sides. However, end bodies 22 could also be provided.

The connector rods 26 extend across the width of one module 29, as isshown in FIG. 6 from one end body 22 to another end body 22. The sameapplies for the fixing rods 27 which are neither depicted in FIG. 6.

The number of rows and lines of the module 29 in FIG. 6 is only given byway of example. The module preferably has at least 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,or 10 rows, however preferably not more than 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, or15 ones.

In FIG. 6, furthermore rollers 28 are depicted (cf. FIG. 5), per modulemore than one row of metal bodies 13 being equipped with rollers 28.Preferably, not all rows are equipped with rollers.

FIG. 7 schematically shows how the complete conveyor belt 3 is assembledfrom several modules 29. In FIG. 7, by way of example three modules arearranged one next to the other, however, depending on the size of themodules 29, it can be more or less modules 29, such as 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,9, 10 or even more. The number of modules 29 in the conveying directionresults from the required length of the conveyor belt 3.

The connection with the pin 23 and the keyhole openings 24, as they areshown in FIG. 4, serves for interconnecting the modules 29 laterally.The pins 23 can be located in FIG. 6, for example, at the left upperside and are connected to the keyhole openings 24 of an adjacent module.

In order to interconnect the modules 29 that are located one after theother in the conveying direction, these are assembled by means ofconnector rods 26 when they are assembled on site, as is schematicallydepicted in FIG. 5. These connector rods can have the lengthcorresponding to the width of one module 29, or else can extend acrossthe width of several modules or across the complete width of theconveyor belt 3.

With this construction, it is possible to prefabricate modules 29 thatcan be transported in layers in pallets or containers so as to savespace. The module 29 in FIG. 6 can, for example, have dimensions of 1.1m×0.7 m, so that is fits on a Europallet.

It is thus not necessary to mount and ship a complete conveyor belt 3.By the modular structure, a pre-assembly of identical modules 29 israther possible, without the dimensioning of the conveyor belt alreadyhaving to be known. Depending on the number of required modules 29,these are shipped as required and assembled at the site of erection ofthe pasteurizer 1 to form a conveyor belt 3.

The structure 39 formed of metal bodies, as is shown in FIG. 5, is notsuited for transporting bottles or the like as the structure 39 does notform a conveyor surface.

In order to form a conveyor surface 38, plastic pieces 30, as they areshown in FIG. 8, are coupled to the structure 39 formed of the metalbodies 13, 22.

The plastic piece 30 shown in FIG. 8 has ribs 31 which are designed suchthat they extend into the conveying direction and are spaced so narrowlythat their surface is suited for transporting bottles, i.e. that theyform a conveyor surface. The distance between the ribs 31 can be, forexample, between 0.1 and 1 cm, or 0.5 and 1.0 cm.

At the front end 36 of the plastic piece 30, projections 32 arearranged. A bulge 35 is provided behind these projections 32 at thebottom surface of the plastic piece 30, so that space for a roller 28(see FIG. 5) is provided.

Furthermore, at its bottom surface, the plastic piece 30 has flaps 33each having holes 34.

FIG. 9 shows how the plastic piece 30 is connected to a metal body 13 ofFIG. 3.

The projections 32 of the plastic piece 30 are inserted in the recesses17 of the U-shaped body 13, 22, and further a connector rod 27 is passedthrough the openings 20, this connector rod 27 then also passing throughthe holes 34 of the plastic piece 30. The connector rod 27 can besecured against shifting with respect to the bodies 13, 22 byappropriate means.

The plastic pieces 30 arranged in a line of a module 29 are thus held bythe same connector rod 27 and thus form a group of plastic pieces 30which can be uncoupled from the structure 39 independently of the otherplastic pieces 30.

Due to the connector rods 27 and the projections 32, the plastic piece30 is thus safely connected to the metal body 13. The recesses 17 andthe projections 32, respectively, as well as the fixing rods 27 and theholes 34, however, have enough clearance for being able to absorb thedifferent expansions of the different materials in case of changes intemperature, as they naturally occur in the pasteurizer.

The connection of plastic pieces 30 with the end bodies 22 is performedcorrespondingly.

FIG. 10 shows a section through the conveyor belt 3. The rollers 28 reston a support 37. The connector rods 26, here formed as axles, extendthrough the rollers 28. The connector rods 26 thus support the metalbodies 13, 22, which remain spaced apart from the support 37 in theprocess. Simultaneously, the connector rods 26 connect metal bodies 13and 22 situated one after the other and one next to the other.

Furthermore, FIG. 10 shows the plastic pieces 30. A plastic piece 30 hasa rounded recess at its rear and at the bottom surface in which a frontcurvature of the subsequent plastic piece 30 can be accommodated. Theplastic pieces 30 thus form a conveyor surface 38 situated above thestructure 39.

The connector rods 27 for connecting the plastic pieces 30 with thebodies 13 are also shown in FIG. 10.

As the conveyor belt 3 rolls and does not trail on the support 37 bymeans of the rollers 28, clearly reduced frictional forces can berealised which clearly reduces the transport of the conveyor 3 and thetensile forces in the conveyor belt 3 connected therewith.

In FIG. 11, a plan view on the supports 37 is depicted. The supports 37extend slightly diagonally with respect to the conveying direction 8, sothat the rollers 28 (see FIG. 5 and FIG. 10) are in contact with thesupport 37 always at various positions when a support 37 is passedalong. This prevents grooves or the like from forming in the rollers 28due to wear.

As in the pasteurizer 1, water with various temperatures is drippingfrom above onto the goods to be pasteurizer, the conveyor belt 23 has tobe sufficiently permeable to water.

Furthermore, it is an advantage if the fragments of, for example, glassbottles broken in the pasteurizer can pass downwards through theconveyor belt 3 in order to be thus collected. To this end, the conveyorsurface of the conveyor belt 3 is not closed but has openings.

These openings are provided by the plastic pieces 30 by the spacing ofthe ribs 31. The endless structure 39 is anyway sufficientlywide-meshed.

1. Pasteurizer with a conveyor belt for transporting the goods to bepasteurized, the conveyor belt comprising an endless structure formed bya plurality of metal bodies, wherein a plurality of plastic piecesforming the conveyor surface are coupled to the endless structure,wherein the metal bodies have a substantially U-shape with lateral legsextending in the conveying direction and a connecting part beingarranged in the conveying direction at the front, wherein the laterallegs are provided with openings which serve for connecting severalsuccessive metal bodies by means of connector rods and wherein theplastic pieces are attached to the metal bodies by fixing rods, whereinthe endless structure is composed of identical modules, wherein eachmodule has several identical metal bodies in the direction of theconveying direction as well as in the direction transverse thereto andwherein the fixing rods have a length corresponding to the width of amodule, seen in the conveying direction.
 2. Pasteurizer according toclaim 1, wherein a plurality of metal bodies are provided in thedirection transverse to the conveying direction.
 3. Pasteurizeraccording to claim 2, wherein the plurality of metal bodies comprises atleast one of three, four, five, six, eight, ten, twelve, fifteen ortwenty metal bodies.
 4. Pasteurizer according to claim 2, wherein themetal bodies are substantially identical.
 5. Pasteurizer according toclaim 4, and wherein the metal bodies include end bodies, and the endbodies are not identical to the rest of the metal bodies.
 6. Pasteurizeraccording to claim 1, wherein a plurality of plastic pieces are providedin the direction transverse to the conveying direction.
 7. Pasteurizeraccording to claim 6, wherein the plastic pieces are substantiallyidentical.
 8. Pasteurizer according to claim 7, wherein the plurality ofplastic pieces comprises one of three, four, five, six, eight, ten,twelve, fifteen or twenty plastic pieces.
 9. Pasteurizer according toclaim 1, wherein the plastic pieces are coupled to one of the endlessstructure individually or in a group of not more than fifteen plasticpieces so as to be releasable.
 10. Pasteurizer according to claim 9,wherein the plastic pieces are coupled to one of the endless structureor in a group of not more than ten plastic pieces.
 11. Pasteurizeraccording to claim 1, wherein exactly one plastic piece is provided permetal body.
 12. Pasteurizer according to claim 1, wherein the plasticpieces comprise ribs at the conveyor surface that are oriented in theconveying direction.
 13. Pasteurizer according to claim 1, wherein eachmodule has, at the sides lateral in the conveying direction, at leastone plug-in connection for connecting the module with another module.14. Pasteurizer according to claim 13, wherein the plug-in connection isformed at several metal bodies of the module.
 15. Pasteurizer accordingclaim 1, wherein the metal bodies of one module are interconnected bythe connector rods extending transversely to the conveying direction andwhich are passed through the openings of the metal bodies, so that theycan be rotated with respect to one another.
 16. Pasteurizer according toclaim 15, wherein the connector rods have a length corresponding to thewidth of one module.
 17. Pasteurizer according to claim 15, wherein theendless structure comprises rollers at the side opposite to the conveyorsurface.
 18. Pasteurizer according to claim 17, wherein the rollers canroll on supports, so that during the rolling of a roller along thesupport, the support and the roller are in contact at various pointsalong the axle of the roller.
 19. Pasteurizer according to claim 17,wherein the rollers are put on the connector rods.
 20. Conveyor belt, inparticular for a pasteurizer, comprising an endless structure formed bya plurality of metal bodies, wherein a plurality of plastic piecesforming the conveyor surface are coupled to the endless structure,wherein the metal bodies have a substantially U-shape, with lateral legsextending in the conveying direction, and a connecting part beingarranged in the conveying direction at the front, wherein the laterallegs are provided with openings which serve for connecting severalsuccessive metal bodies by means of connector rods and wherein theplastic pieces are attached to the metal bodies by fixing rods, whereinthe endless structure is composed of identical modules, wherein eachmodule has several identical metal bodies in the direction of theconveying direction as well as in the direction transverse thereto andwherein the fixing rods have a length corresponding to the width of amodule, seen in the conveying direction.
 21. Conveyor belt, inparticular for a pasteurizer, comprising a plurality of identicalmodules in the longitudinal as well as in the transverse direction, eachmodule comprising several identical metal bodies in the longitudinal aswell as in the transverse direction, wherein the metal bodies have asubstantially U-shape, with lateral legs extending in the conveyingdirection, and a connecting part being arranged in the conveyingdirection at the front, wherein the lateral legs are provided withopenings which serve for connecting several successive metal bodies bymeans of connector rods and wherein the plastic pieces are attached to ametal body by fixing rods, wherein the endless structure is composed ofidentical modules, wherein each module has several identical metalbodies in the direction of the conveying direction as well as in thedirection transverse thereto and wherein the fixing rods have a lengthcorresponding to the width of a module, seen in the conveying direction.